Scott's Mailbag
Rants

Cody & Rock Co-Top Draws?

By Scott Keith on 2 September 2024


Scott,
Looking at the insane uptick in business during this “Renaissance Era” (TM), I think it's very unique in that you can argue Roman & Cody should each get equal credit, 50/50 as Top Guys unlike say Austin & Rock or Hogan & Savage. I'd define that era starting in 2023.

The case for Roman is obvious as he was on top with his 3 and a half year reign when the business really turned, including the new media rights deal but here's the case for Cody:

  • Top Merch Seller for the last 2 years doing Cena level numbers, including breaking the top 10 for all of Fanatics including all sports stars.
  • 2023 Set a record for Live Event Revenue, with Cody headlining and Roman doing very few if any.
  • April-June 2024 set the record for highest revenue and profit in company history (only 7 days of Roman)
  • Top 3 arena gates in Company history set this year with Cody as champ on each show and no Roman
I've seen some folks talk about how Ratings(!) have declined since Roman left ignoring the obvious that also coincided w/ the end of the Mania spike and Rock left too. And despite huge preliminary ratings, Roman's much hyped Smackdown return on 8/9 had lower ratings than three other Smackdowns this summer once the final numbers came in.

Has there ever been another situation like this where you could say the top draw really is 50/50 between two stars?


Wait, how do Rock and Austin not count in this situation? Also I'd argue for Dusty and Flair as well.